My students need around 300 candles for our third annual peace rally. I would like to have the children enter the auditorium with the candles, each representing a person who was killed this year. We hope the visual will have an strong impact on our students.
$1,174 goal
Hooray! This project is fully funded
Hooray! This project is fully funded
Give this project a boost!
A chain reaction of support starts with one share.
This project is part of the Black History Month celebration because it supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of the students are Black.
We are a title one school in an urban section of the city. We are a small school of about 400 students. About 99% of our students are below the poverty line, 5% of that population are considered homeless. Our school starts at Headstart and goes up to eighth grade. We have a low turn over rate for teachers. Most of the staff has been at our school for 10+ years. Our principal was a former teacher at our school and our staff is like a big family. The children are our number one priority and we try to meet all of their needs. However, every year our money gets cut more and more. We do not have enough money to pay a full-time nurse. This causes a problem because our school has a high rate of asthma cases. The district also took 3 teachers away from us, this means we will have to have classes where the teacher will have two grades( 2nd and 3rd graders) in one class.
Our budget last year was cut 90,000 dollars and more is expected to be taken this year. We have barely enough money for supplies the students need and definitely no money to buy "extras". Our children live in a violent section of our city where violence is not only accepted but encouraged. Our students need to learn that violence is not the only answer. We hope to "sensitize" a "desensitized" generation.
We will need battery operated candles as a visual representation of the people who were killed last year in our city, for our third annual peace rally. This project is important to our school and community. Most of our children have witnessed gun violence, domestic violence, and gang violence. When we did a survey, we found that most of the students at our school had witnessed someone die because they were shot. Our children are crying out for our help and we are trying to find ways to support and encourage them through this long and hard journey called life.
The candles will give us another way to show our students and parents how violence is destroying our city. You will make it possible for our peace rally to be just a little more powerful this year.
Nearly all students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. McGarry and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.